Is it too late to buy gold? It soared to a record USD 1,700 an ounce Monday after the United States suffered its first-ever debt downgrade at the hands of Standard & Poor's.
With gold rising 30% this year and nearly 400% over the past decade, it's reasonable to ask when the fever might break.
In recent days it's gone completely viral as the debt crisis plunged financial markets to the biggest losses in two years.
"People who weren't talking about it even six months ago are heavily interested in gold today," says Frank Trotter, president of EverBank Direct in Jacksonville, Florida, which holds nearly USD 500 million worth of precious metals in the form of hard assets for clients.
Gold purchases leaped to more than 18 million ounces over the past month -- from 8.4 million for the entire year up to July, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
People are betting gold will come through the present debt crisis shining. In the depths of the 2008 financial crisis, gold dropped by 20% -- but the metal was hurt as the US dollar became the safe haven of choice. In the debt showdown this year, the dollar has suffered and gold leaped.
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